2Big2Skate

All my best to the happy couple!

Gotta give a second vote for cottage cheese.

Hello everyone. I'm a 22 year old female who just recently got sleeved on April 5th. I'm currently on the liquid diet about to be on pureed foods tomorrow. I just feel like I really need someone who understands what I'm going through because I feel I'm losing control.. I'm having a extremely hard time being able to get the recommended 64 oz of Water in and probably only get about half of it. It really is worrying me a lot and the fact that the Protein is just as hard. All i can think about is the new extreme boredom and emptiness I feel inside after my friend (food) was taken from me. I dont know what to do with myself anymore and sometimes just think of giving up. I feel like this was a huge mistake and can only think of how ill never be able to eat as much delicious food as I want again. Honestly my personality is totally changed and I feel no joy in anything anymore. I realized the reality that food was my only joy and it makes me so angry that I let it be so I had to feel this miserable. Will this ever get any better??

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Are you attending a local support group? You're going to have good days and a few bad in the adventures to come. Having real local friends you can call, meet at the park for a walk, etc, will help a lot. Please make sure you're integrating into your local support community.

Jay

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Struggling to wipe. Sorry if TMI.

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I was cut at Penn and I'm pretty sure there was good wifi. I took 3 books and read like half of one. I was in and out of sleep so much i couldnt get bored.

I slept in the recliner in the living room for a week. It was just more comfrotable and the doc said it would help with the gas relocation pain. One positive, it kept the cats from jumping right on top of my sutures!

All the problems you list COULD be related to the acid, which isnt that abnormal. It would be a good precautionary step to get some imaging done just in case. But if your surgeon is confident, then it's your call whether you want a second opinion.

Acid can swell up the esophogus and slow down the movement of food. Does it get better when you take the acid blockers? Does it feel like food is stacking up before the stomach (intense, focused discomfort)? Are you chewing things up really well and eating slowly?

If you get imaging that shows youre structurally fine, then I'd work with the choice of foods. Work with your nutritionist to find foods that don't trigger the acid. For me, I couldnt touch yogurt for 3 months. But now I'm off the pills and love yogurt.

Congrats! Please let us know about your progress!

I don't think there is anything particular to weight loss surgery that would normally cause this. I think it's more usual to have that related to hormonal changes or issues. I suppose metabolic issues could contribute but I'm no doctor. I would go see your GP and let them check you out.

You're not using any supplements containing stimulants, like for the gym, are you? caffeine, guarana, yohimbe, etc can all get you fired up when combined with exhertion.

Jay

Ignorance is the only natural resource we'll never run out of.

"Would you tell a recovering addict, 'i liked you better on crack'?"

I slept in a recliner for over a week. It just felt better. #1 I think it helped with the gas relocation and clearing. #2 it felt more comfortable in the cut up areas. I'm a big roller and side sleeper. I could also see how all that movement could maybe cause some swelling or slow down healing.

I'd ask the doc for their reasoning and try to comply as best you can.

Best of luck!

I once ate 63 wings at a sitting at Hooters. Friends would encourage me to try competitive eating. There's lots of stories in there. Including half a pitcher of pepper. granular black table pepper.

But I feel no shame over that, surprisingly. What I feel shame about is eating the remaining half a pint of ice cream in the freezer late one night and having my daughter cry the next day because mommy promised she could have it.

If she is considering the surgery too, I wouldn't be too hard on her. We all needed someone to teach us about the possibilities of WLS. Maybe you could help her? Maybe your success will encourage her and you two will end up as sisters-in-arms enjoying long term health and happiness?

(while still encouraging her to maintain boundaries and confidentiality at the workplace)

Maybe this is one of those pay-it-forward moments?

Jay

I snack more when I work from home too. I dont think it has anything to do with phsiology. It's all mental with me.

Your sleeve CAN hold more than it did when it was all swollen up and tiny. But don't get wrapped up in that. It's almost always behavioral. Are you separating the eating and drinking well? Are you getting firm, chunky Protein first thing, and eating slowly? So you can feel full longer. Or are you eating a lot of carbs that make you crave more carbs and just slide right on through the gut?

Snacking isnt good for your sleeve or the scale. You should slowly fill the pouch with stuff that is healthy and really satisfying. And dont flush it quickly with liquids. If you do that, your brain will have the biological signal of fullness longer. And you can tell your head hunger to go away.

If you're feeling hungry again soon after eating, think about it. Something isnt making sense. Check the details of how youre eating. Then if all else fails, get out of the house. Go for a walk with your drink bottle so you wont be in the kitchen when head hunger strikes.

All my best,

Jay

Congrats Jay! I cant wait to say Im in maintenance mode lol. I was sleeved in 2/27. First day back at work today. Anything you learned would be great!!! How to handle trigger foods, temptations... Any words of wisdom that if u had known back then u would do over?

Plan, Prepare, and Persevere!

Plan - Know everything that you're going to eat today before Breakfast is over. Write it down. Use an App like myfitnesspal and put the stuff in BEFORE you eat it, not after.

Prepare - Shop like youre going to war, because making good choices everyday as someone with a food addiction IS a battle. Identify where youre weak and make plans to help you win that battle. Bad decisions are usually the result of not having good decisions among your options. Stash shakes and bars (and cottage cheese/greek yogurt, cheese sticks, whatever you love) in the places where you suffer temptation and commonly fail. At work, in your car, by your PC at home, or near the TV. You can win these wars if you're prepared. Corollary: Dont allow bad decisions to be in your house! You dont have to allow Cookies or chips to exist in your space.

Persevere - you're going to put the wrong things in your mouth from time to time. Don't beat yourself up, but dont let it continue! Fail Forward Fast. Dont wallow and self medicate with bad calories. Do the next right thing, and the next one after that. Forgive yourself and refocus daily. It helps if you have the reasons you chose to have the surgery written down and displayed somewhere (like on the fridge).

Head hunger will talk to you, when it does, talk back. "Hello, old foe. So we meet again. You want me to believe that I need food now? I just talked to Stomach and he says I just ate 40 min ago and there's no way I've digested even half of that chicken. So I'm going to listen to him and just have something to drink. Better luck next time!"

When all else fails, get back to basics. Protein first, eat slow, separate eating and drinking, and dont skip your supplements (getting too low on Vit D or B12 makes me feel like CRAP)!

I look at the sleeve as training wheels to long term behavior modification. You get this long honeymoon period where your behavior HAS to change, due to physical changes. And during this time you have every reason in the world to learn and implement new behaviors. By the time the physical restrictions become less, your brain will have relearned good eating. I'm only about 18 months out and I still can't finish a full turkey burger patty without feeling "uncomfortable". But the miracle is that my brain knows to only put one turkey burger patty on my plate! No fries! No bun!

You can do this! Let the sleeve do it's job and you do your job. Rethink eating, rethink nutrition. And enjoy the new control you will gain!

Hi everyone. I was sleeved up in PA but I live in North Fulton now.

What support groups are y'all going to?

I was sleeved in Oct 2013 and I've been at my goal weight for about 9 months. If I can help in any way just send me a PM!

All my best,

Jay

I was a serious addict before surgery. It was a source of a lot of my liquid calories. I went cold turkey after and maintained that stance for 6-7 months. Then I switched jobs and got on an earlier schedule. During a brutal all week training I fell back into old habits and started back up with caffeine.

My sleep had improved so much and I felt great. I'm planning on weaning off it again. I currently have one keurig cup in the morning to take to work. And then if i want more i make Decaf. It's such a chemical deal for me, its obvious lol.

I miss the Saturday morning support group. The nutritionists and nursing staff were great.

Hi folks. I was sleeved up in PA a year ago and moved to ATL for work recently. I live in Roswell and I'm looking for a good support group. What program has the best follow up care? I'm thinking I'd like to do follow up with a nutritionist every few months, and get/provide support in a group environment.

Thanks!

Jay

I lived in West Philly for a long time, then moved out to KoP.

Dr Williams at Penn did my surgery a year ago on Halloween. I feel great and I don't regret a thing! Best of luck on your surgery and recovery!

Jay

Good advice. I still have to get through this phase where I am starting to look like a skeleton, with the wrong things sticking out of the wrong places. And I'm having trouble packing on muscle.

One thing Ive added is the Complete Cookie by Lenny and Larry. It's a little higher on carbs but still has8g of Protein (different flavors have more/less). But the thing is a gut bomb. One cookie is a full meal for me. It's all natural and vegan if youre into that. The consistency is very good, not chewy.

I wish you great luck on this endeavor. But does anyone know what the breakdown is of men vs women having WLS? I hope you're not ultimately frustrated by the statistics of the population. In my support group - at a university hospital in a major city - it was about 10 to 1 women to men.

(It's nice to have the tables turned for once lol)

Tara -

Congratulations on your success regaining scale stability! I am in the same boat. I hit my goal very fast and just sorta thought "this is easy". Then I shot past my goal and, fearful of falling back into bad eating habits, I didnt want to add back in the fats and carbs. I guess you have to.

I'm trying to climb back to 220 and it's hard. My joints are starting to stick out and my clavicle/shoulder blades look bony. EW! I'm not shallow but skeletons belong in the closet!

I love the ideas in this thread so much I thought it would be good to collect them in an easily searchable library. I put it under nutrition and called it "maintenance menu". Everyone please share your vet knowledge over there as I am sure there are dozens of people searching who share our same problem.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/313765-maintenance-menu-adding-calories-responsibly/

Hi folks,

In another thread a couple of us were talking about how we couldn't stop losing until we upped our calorie count. It came out that many folks struggle to meet a higher daily total due to the wonderful restriction of our sleeves.

In this thread, I'd like to ask folks to list their tips and recipes for adding calories back into their diets to hit a higher target. Please list your cal/day target as well, so those struggling can see what's common around the community.

I'm sitting at 1300/day trying to get to 1500/day. I was only sleeved at the end of october so I'm still a baby. But I already shot past my goal and need to track and add in order to stop losing.

My best suggestion is adding high cal and high fat stuff to your yogurt. I put fruit preserves and almonds in it. Sometimes I get the hawaii trail mix and dump that in. And I snack on that throughout the day when I can. For liquids, I stopped buying the low carb RTD drinks and switched to the full monty version.

I do hit 1500 about half the time, but it's real work. I never thought I'd have THIS problem. I feel great though, so it's a good problem to have!

What are your tips/recipes?

Thanks,

Jay